One in a million!
A theme is emerging of people being surprised by their own circumstances. Grandsons of vinters shocked to find themselves making wine, Rumer Willis trying her hand at acting (of all things!), generations of writers struggling against the family legacy and then finding themselves writing in spite of themselves.
But nothing is worse than a couple with the need to believe that how they met was truly remarkable.
I was at a party a few years ago with a man and woman who'd just gotten engaged after a whirlwind courtship. It was one in a million they kept telling me, as they recounted, starry-eyed, in painstaking detail, how their improbable union came to be.
Let me cut to the chase. They met on J-Date, and they had a lot in common. Of course they had a lot in common--they filled out forms about their interests. And it makes sense things progressed quickly--the fact they were both internet dating meant they were actively looking. So what made it one in a million, except for the fact that it happened to them?
Labels: dating
posted by John Levenstein at
2:13 PM
7 Comments:
Once, on Waikiki Beach, I ran into someone I knew. "WHAT ARE THE CHANCES" she kept screaming. Well, the chances are quite high, I think, of running into someone you know in a very touristy spot.
another coincidence: these people were both jewish. on j-date of all places!
White as well? Impossible!
Here, when people meet and realize they have numerous common acquaintances, one will always say, "That's Smallbany!" I like this expression, in part because it makes no explicit statement about probability.
Frank, next time that happens to me, I'm just going to blurt out, "That's Smallbany!"
I'll let you know the results.
Another theme is emerging: probability theory.
I'm really good at calling other people on their probability bullshit but really bad at seeing it in myself. But maybe that's natural: on the one hand, someone misses every plane flight; On the other hand, if I missed a plane flight and the plane crashed, I'd definitely see the Hand of God in it.
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